DUBAI, March 29 (Reuters) - Net foreign assets at Saudi Arabia’s central bank dropped 1.7 percent from the previous month to 2.19 trillion riyals ($584 billion) in February, central bank data showed on Tuesday.
Assets fell 17.3 percent from a year earlier to their lowest level since May 2012. They reached a record high of $737 billion in August 2014 before starting to shrink.
The central bank, which acts as Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has been drawing down its assets to cover a huge state budget deficit caused by low oil prices. (Reporting by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.